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AJN 

ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED    BEFORE 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA 
INSTITUTE    OF    EDUCATION; 

AT  THEJR 

ANNUAL   MEETING, 
June  19th,  1832. 


BY  ALFRED  MOORE,  ESQ. 


ii 
PRINTED  BY  JOHN  L  PASTEUR. 

1832. 


x> 


ft 


& 


Mr.  President, 

And  Gentlemen  of  the  Institute: 

It  was  said  by  the  celebrated  Colbert,  the  wise  and  vir- 
tuous minister  of  Louis  the  XIV.  of  France,  that  "there 
"never  was  an  association  of  intelligent  men,  (who  had  not 
"factious  designs,)  without  some  good  resulting  from  it." 

The  purposes  of  this  association,  are  of  the  highest  inte- 
rest to  the  State,  and  its  complete  success  must  be  the  anx- 
ious wish  of  every  patriot.  Yet  should  disappointment  blight 
every  effort,  another  fact  will  be  added  in  support  of  Col- 
bert's aphorism.  Good  will  have  been  done  in  making  the 
friends  of  Education  known  to  each  other, — in  the  inter- 
change of  thought  and  opinion,  and  in  the  opportunities 
which  will  have  been  afforded  of  forming  a  just  estimate  of 
the  talent,  acquirement,  and  capability  of  usefulness,  of  the 
literary  portion  of  our  population.  It  is  to  the  want  of  this 
knowledge,  Gentlemen,  that  I  am  indebted  for  having  been 
selected  by  you,  for  the  place  I  now  fill ; — I  must  believe  a 
more  extensive  acquaintance  with  individuals,  would  have 
caused  a  better  choice.  In  thus  expressing  myself,  I  beg  to 
be  understood  as  not  attempting  that  old,  worn-out  assump- 
tion of  modesty,  which  has  long  ceased  to  deceive  any  body 
I  am  sincere;  for  my  pursuits  in  life  have  had  little  con- 
nexion with  those  objects,  the  promotion  of  which  gave 
birth  to,  and  are  the  purpose  of  this  society.  It  is  true,  that 
while  serving  in  the  State  Legislature,  the  establishment  of 
schools,  and  propositions  for  a  plan  of  general  instruction, 
have,  in  a  few  instances,  been  brought  under  my  notice,  but 
the  manner  of  their  reception,—the  summary,  hasty,  and 


indeed  petulant  mode  of  disposing  of  (hem,  precluded  those 
investigations  and  interchanges  of  opinion,  which  lead  to  in- 
formation ;  and  when  connected  with  the  known  state  of  pub- 
lic feeling,  dismissed  the  subject,  (at  least  from  my  mind,) 
as  desperate. 

We  well  know  how  much  time,  reflection,  and  close  and 
minute  investigation  are  requisite,  to  enable  even  a  highly 
gifted  person,  to  present  to  the  intelligent  and  well-informed, 
even  on  points  of  less  interest  and  intricacy  than  Education, 
and  the  literary  state  of  a  country,  any  new  and  valuable 
thoughts,  although  the  means  of  complete  information  be  at 
command.  How  very  little,  then,  should  be  looked  for,  from 
one  whose  course  of  thinking  on  such  subjects  was  so  early 
damped  ; — who  was  without  the  aid  of  books,  and  unsus- 
tained  by  health.  I  trust  I  shall  be  excused  for  my  frankness 
in  saying,  that  I  have  obeyed  your  commands  with  the  great- 
est reluctance ;  and  nothing  but  the  return  of  the  members 
of  this  society  to  their  respective  homes,  before  I  heard  of 
the  selection  they  had  made, — the  impracticability  of  a  new 
appointment,  and  the  fear  of  a  bad  effect  resulting  to  an  insti- 
tution at  its  outset,  whese  object  is  so  patriotic,  could  possi- 
bly have  prevailed  on  me  to  place  myself  before  the  public 
eye,  under  circumstances  so  unfavourable.  I  felt  called  upon 
for  a  sacrifice  of  my  own  feelings,  and  I  have  made  it,  in  the 
hope  of  some  good  resulting  from  it,  in  saving  the  Institute 
from  embarrassment. 

There  is,  however,  one  point  in  connexion  with  the  object 
of  this  Institution,  on  which  I  am  not  uninformed.  It  is  the 
state  of  the  public  mind  in  North-Carolina,  relative  to  Educa- 
tion: and  unfeigned  is  my  regret,  that  instead  of  being  able  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  certainty  of  a  hearty  co-operation  of 
our  fellow  citizens,  in  any  well  digested  plan  for  the  gene- 
ral diffusion  of  that  great  blessing  over  the  State,  truth 
obliges  me  to  warn  you  of  a  sullen  and  steady  opposition  to 
every  scheme  you  may  devise,  and  every  effort  you  may 
make.  Are  proofs  exacted  of  me  1 — I  refer  you  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  University  of  North-Carolina  up  to  the  year  1830  ; 
—I  refer  you  to  the  occurrences  of  that  year,  when  the  Le- 
gislature refused  to  lend  a  little  money,  to  the  only  literary 
institution  of  the  State,  to  save  it  from  absolute  destruction- 


Mow  littlo  it  was  cared  for, — with  what  utter  indifference  it 
was  viewed  when  tottering  to  a  fall,  may  be  gathered  from 
this: — the  members  of  that  session,  at  least  the  majority, 
never  even  cast  a  thought  upon  it  !  ! — how  else  can  we  ac- 
count for  their  neglect  of  an  institution  which  is  guarantied 
by  the  Constilution  to  the  people,  and  which  the  qualifica- 
tion oath  of  every  member  bound  him  to  support?  I  have 
used  the  words  "  refused  to  lend,"  because,  although  the  reso- 
lution passed,  such  conditions  were  annexed,  that  the  trustees, 
as  honest  and  faithful  guardians,  were  obliged  to  refuse  ac- 
ceding to,  But  the  test  of  public  feeling  does  not  end  with 
the  Legislature  ; — our  Banks  were  applied  to  in  succession, 
and  each  refused  to  advance  a  dollar  !  ! — That  we  have  yet  a 
University,  is  gratefully  to  be  attributed  to  the  Branch  of  the 
United  States'  Bank  at  Fayetteville,  which  promptly  advan- 
ced all  that  was  asked,  with  no  oilier  security  than  the  seal  of 
the  corporation. 

It  is  natural  when  we  have  much  at  stake,  that  our  feelings 
should  be  under  strong  excitement  ;  and  when  thus  circum- 
stanced, it  is  equally  natural,  we  should  put  the  most  favoura- 
ble construction  upon  things,  and  even  at  times  force  our 
belief  on  the  favoured  side.  This  is  nature,  but  it  is  not 
wisdom.  We  should  never  endeavour  to  extract  encourage- 
ment from  that  which  contains  it  not.  Allow  me  then,  in 
the  same  plainness  of  speech,  which  I  have  used  from  the 
commencement,  to  turn  your  attention  from  the  Legislature, 
and  monied  institutions,  to  the  state  of  feeling  and  opinion 
among  the  people. 

Let  the  form  of  government  be  what  it  may,  men  as  natu- 
rally divide  into  classes  of  association,  as  birds  do  into  flocks, 
and  for  the  same  reason, — their  manners,  habits  and  tastes, 
are  different.  Here  is  the  obstacle  to  the  acquisition  of  real 
information  as  to  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  the  mass  of  the 
people, — the  great  majority,  relative  to  Education  ;  and 
hence  the  mistake  of  many,  in  their  flattering  anticipations  ol 
a  direct  appeal  to  them.  That  portion  of  the  community 
which  has  received  a  good  Education,  and  that  portion 
which  is  uneducated,  but  from  wealth,  marriage,  and  the  like, 
is  associated  with  the  first,  are  to  a  man,  the  open,  decided 
friends  of  literature;  because   there  is  not   one  among  them, 

LJ>\  (f  i  s>^    r~t  r»  *%  O  isti 


I 


« 

who  lias  not  either  fe't  the  advantages  of  learning,  orsuffered 
mortification  from  the  want  of  it.  These  causes,  though  dia- 
metrically opposite*,  are  productive  of  the  same  effect:  tliey 
tend  in  the  same  striking  manner,  to  evince  its  inestimable 
worth,  and  draw  from  every  patriotic  heart,  the  warmest 
wishes  for  iis  general  dissemination.  But  it  is  not  from  these 
we  are  to  learn  public  opinion  :  they  take  no  steps  to  possess 
themselves  of  it.  It  is  true,  when  it  is  wished  to  be  a  member 
of  Assembly  or  of  Congress,  there  is  abundant  intercourse 
with  the  people,  but  then,  it  is  all  directed  to  the  election. 
Among  the  friends  of  Education,  few  have  troubled  them- 
selves to  go  among  the  people,  to  know  their  opinions  on  that 
subject,  and  exert  themselves  to  impress  upon  them,  the 
great,  but  unhappily  hidden  truth,  that  their  interest  there,  is 
greater  than  almost  any  where  else. 

In  accounting  for  such  knowledge  as  I  possess,  of  the  opi- 
nions of  the  people  of  North-Carolina,  relative  to  Education, 
I  beg  to  disclaim  any  pretension  to  industry  or  patriotism, 
beyond  what  is  ordinarih'  met  with  in  life.  I  was  long  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature,  during  which  time,  I  had 
occasion  to  mix  much  with  the  people.  At  first,  I  know  I 
felt  it  a  duty  ;  but  afterwards,  it  may,  perhaps,  have  become 
a  habit  with  me,  to  ask  their  opinions  upon  all  subjects  of 
general  interest.  These  inquiries  have  not  been  confined  to 
my  immediate  constituents,  but  extended  themselves  wherever 
I  went,  and  have  continued  for  more  than  twenty  years.  The 
uniformity  of  opinion  among  them  is  remarkable,  and  of  the 
most  discouraging  character.  It  is  true  I  found  few  who 
condemned  Education  as  an  evil ;  yet  there  were  some. 
The  great  majority  readily  admitted  that  it  was  highly  desi- 
rable ;  but  their  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  Education,  is  truly 
primitive.  To  be  able  to  read,  to  write  and  to  cipher,  is 
with  them,  a  finished  education.  Nay,  I  have,  upon  more 
than  one  occasion,  heard  a  man  called  a  scholar,  who  read 
with  difficulty  ;  who  wrote  in  a  manner,  barely  sufficient  to 
free  him  from  the  suspicion  of  being  skilled  in  hieroglyphics  ; 
and  whose  whole  arithmetical  knowledge  only  allowed  of  his 
putting  a  few  simple  numbers  together,  with  a  chance  of  being 
occasionally  right.  To  Colleges,  they  have  a  decided  hos- 
tility, and  are  fixed  in  the  belief,  that  they  are  solely  designed 


for  the  education  of  the  sons  of  rich  men,  that  they  may  be 
enabled  to  deceive  and  oppress  every  body  else.  Thai  in  one 
sense  of  the  word,  there  are  many  of  our  citizens,  who  hold 
and  express  very  different  opinions,  is  certain  :  but  number 
these  against  the  rest,  in  a  population  of  more  than  700,000 
souls,  and  they  dwindle  to  a  feeble  minority. 

That  the  people  mean  well,  I  never  doubted  ; — they  judge 
according  to  their  means  of  judging,  and  are  not  to  be  blamed, 
for  failing  to  see  those  things,  which  lie  without  the  sphere  of 
thei.r  vision.  Those  who  have  penetrated  the  temple  of  sci- 
ence, far  enough  to  observe  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  its 
structure  ;  who  have  had  light  to  beam  upon  them  from  sour- 
ces that  are  unknown  to  the  great  majority  of  their  fellow 
beings,  and  whose  generous  feelings,  knowing  no  selfishness, 
would  extend  the  blessings  they  enjoy  to  all  ; — they  too, 
should  have  the  kindest  look  of  indulgence  cast  upon  them, 
for  any  little  impatience  they  may  exhibit,  at  the  apathy  with 
which  their  counsels  may  be  received,  and  the  difficulties  that 
may  be  thrown  in  their  way,  when  struggling  for  the  good 
of  others. 

The  obstacles  which  surround  us,  and  are  to  be  contended 
with,  I  have  pltced  before  you  gentlemen,  in  the  simplicity 
and  nakedness  of  truth.  It  may  be  supposed,  that  I  have 
viewed  this  subject  through  a  darker  medium  than  I  should 
havp  done; — I  would  be  glad  to  think  so  too  ; — but  the  opi- 
nions I  have  delivered  are  drawn  from  facts  ;  and  have  set- 
tled on  my  mind,  through  inquiries  which  have  spread  far  and 
continued  long. 

To  find  a  remedy  for  the  deplorable  situation  we  are  in,  is 
the  object,  and  grand  desideratum  of  this  association  ;  and  the 
task  is  as  arduous,  as  the  purpose  is  pious,  generous,  and 
noble.  Energy,  activity,  unceasing  perseverance,  and  indo- 
mitable patience  must  be  your  motto;  for,  from  the  nature  of 
things,  this  must  be  a  work  of  time. 

It  would  be  a  great  gratification  to  me,  could  I  furnish  the 
Institute  with  a  plan  of  Education,  and  believe  after  I  had 
done  so,  that  it  would  be  of  any  use  ;  but  I  must  be  excused 
even  the  attempt,  for  as  I  frankly  stated  in  the  comniRnce- 
ment  of  this  address,  my  pursuits  in  life  have  led  to  little 
information  on  such  subjects,  and  moreover,  I  am  under  the 
impression  that  such  a  plan  would  be  premature.     But  let  us 


8 

not  shrink  from  our  purpose  ;— hope  is  the  privilege  even  of 
the  ship- wrecked  mariner,  when  sustained  by  a  single  plank. 
In  addition  to  the  support  which  so  good  a  cause  will  receive, 
from  the  known  talent,  firmness,  and  experience  of  many  of 
thomembeis  of  this  association,  something  may  be  gained  by 
fortuitous  circumstances.  It  may  be  but  a  phantom  of  the 
brain,  but  I  am  sometimes  inclined  to  the  opinion,  that 
there  is  a  strong  analogy  between  States  or  Nations,  and  indi- 
viduals. Incidents  of  a  very  similar  character,  and  a  proba- 
tionary state  to  be  gone  through,  are  common  to  both.  It  is 
very  certain,  that  events  no  way  under  the  control  of  human 
wisdom,  have  a  cogent  effect  on  each,  and  the  most  important 
changes  are  at  times  occasioned,  by  apparently  very  inade- 
quate means  ;  while  at  others,  combinations  which  would  ap- 
pear certain  of  producing  particular  results,  have  either  failed 
altogether,  or  caused  the  reverse  of  what  had  been  designed 
by  them.  To  expect  any  sudden  change  of  public  opinion, 
would  be  an  absurdity  unquestionably,  yet  we  may  be  al- 
lowed to  hope  for  it,  particularly  in  a  case,  where  our  pros- 
pects are  sufficiently  gloomy,  to  justify  us  in  seeking  to  drive 
away  despondency,  even  by  invoking  a  miracle. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  from  the  consideration  of 
family  affairs,  if  I  may  be  indulged  in  thus  expressing  myself, 
to  the  literary  state  of  the  nation,  past,  and  present. 

It  has  often  bern  both  said  and  written  by  our  countrymen, 
that  the  United  States  stand  absolutely  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  This,  no  doubt,  is  true  in  some  parti- 
culars, and  in  these,  we  have  abundant  cause  for  gratitude 
and  self-gratulation.  But  with  all  my  pride  of  country,  and 
national  prejudice,  1  cannot  so  far  go  into  Judaism,  as  to 
believe  we  are  a  people  specially  chosen,  and  set  apart  by 
the  Omnipotent,  for  faculties  and  endowments  of  the  mind, 
beyond  a  parallel  with  the  gracious  benefactions  he  has  here- 
tofore been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  man.  Such  opinions  are 
mere  rhapsodies,  and  are  founded  upon  a  miscalculation  of  our 
years,  and  consequent  erroneous  estimate  of  our  acquisitions. 
These  enthusiasts  look  to  the  planting  of  the  first  English 
Colony  on  the  shores  of  North  America  ;  they  take  this  period 
for  their  datum,  and  refuse  to  look  further  back.  But  is  this 
a  fair  way  of  reasoning  ;  a  just  way  of  thinking?  Our  fore- 
fathers were  not  savages — w<^re  not  the  aborigines  of  this 
country — they  were  the  conquerors,  and  landed  a  civilized 


9 

people.  They  brought  the  Bible  and  the  arts  with  them — 
and  although  emigrants*  are  not  the  most  prominent  of  any 
country,  in  wealth,  talent,  or  literature,  nevertheless,  they 
are  part  of  that  country  which  has  been  left  behind,  and  bring 
wiih  them  the  habits,  manners,  feelings,  and  opinions  of  their 
countrymen.  Such  were  our  ancestors,  when  they  landed 
on  these  shores  : — they  were  hardy  and  adventurous,  as 
is  ever  the  case;  but  they  were  also  a  civilized,  and  an  in- 
tellectual people.  These  things  should  be  remembered, 
while  it  should  also  not  be  forgotten,  that  if  we  would  search 
for  our  origin  as  a  people,  we  must  go  back  as  a  part  of  the 
British  nation,  beyond  the  days  of  Canute  and  of  Alfred. 
There  is  one  general  operative  law  which  has  been  ordained 
by  Providence,  for  the  government  of  the  affairs  of  this 
worl  ),  and  of  all  that  is  in  it.  The  progress  of  a  nation 
from  barbarism  to  civilization  of  man,  from  infancy  to  matu- 
rity,— of  a  plant,  from  the  unfolding  of  the  germ  to  the  pro- 
duction of  its  fruit,  is  alike  graduated  by  on,j  great  scale,  and 
holds  connexion  and  resemblance  throughout.  Whatever 
self-love  may  teach,  or  vanity  inspire,  this  law  will  never  be 
overthrown,  for  it  is  the  common  law  of  nature  and  of  things. 
As  soon  may  you  expect  to  spe  the  new-born  infant  acquire 
in  a  day,  the  size,  strength  and  powers  of  a  man,  as  a  nation 
suddenly  rising  into  eminence  in  literature  and  the  arts.  Time 
will  demand  its  due, —  a  certain  probationary  state  must  be 
gone  through  ;  and  however  comparatively  rapid,  the  process 
at  best  is  but  slow. 

The  positive  checks  to  our  advancement  as  a  literary  peo- 
ple, seem  also  to  be  overlooked.  We  should  recur  to  these, 
for  while  they  restrain  our  vanities  and  premature  assump- 
tions, they  will  give  us  sttength  and  confidence  in  ourselves, 
which  will   wear  well  because  they  have  been  well  founded.. 

It  is  true  we  came  a  civilized  people  here,  but  it  was  civi- 
lization not  of  the  highest  refinement — an  intellectual  peo- 
ple, but  still  subordinate — a  people  not  destitute  of  literature, 
but  yet  literature  in  its  infancy  : — in  a  word,  our  fathers  were 
to  America,  what  Cadmus  was  to  Greece.  The  very  fact  of 
emigration  and  settlement  in  a  wilderness,  formed  an  imme- 
diate and  powerful  check.  Civilized  intercourse  was  con- 
fined to  the  few  christian  beings  who  were  assembled  on  the 
shore,  while  the  means  of  subsistence,  and   protection  from 

B 


10 

the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  engaged  every  thought,  and 
bounded  every  effort.  It  is  the  nature  of  man  to  assimilate 
willi  that  which  is  about,  and  surrounds  him.  The  wilder- 
ness, the  savages,  the  piimitive  way  of  living— all  these  had 
their  effect  ;  the  grade  of  rivihzation  was  lowered,  and  let- 
ters, though  still  preserved,  retrograded — they  certainly  did 
not  advance.  Here  is  a  hiatus  of  many  years  in  our  lite- 
rary history,  a  period  during  which  not  even  one  faint  ray 
shot  from  the  flickerings  of  the  lamp  of  science,  within  the 
wide  extent  of  this  now  mighty  empire. 

The  Church  claims  the  first  fruits,  after  the  Indians  were 
driven  from  ihe  neighbourhood  of  the  white  settlements,  and 
had  fallen  back  upon  the  interior.  Polemical  divinity  now 
engrossed  every  thought,  and  the  abstruse  disquisitions  and 
disputes  of  sectarians,  calling  for  books,  for  research,  and  for 
composition,  rekindled  the  expiring  flame.  Continuing  to 
trace  the  footsteps  of  liteiature,  we  next  find  them  winding 
their  way  from  the  Church,  to  the  Senate  House,  and  the 
Bar  ; — in  a  word,  their  range  had  become  much  extended. 
Newspapers  were  established,  pamphlets  made  their  appear- 
ance, emulation  was  exrited,  and  taste  refined,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  works  of  Dryden,  Wicherly,  Pope,  Atter- 
berry,  Swift,  Arbuthnot,  Prior,  Congreve,  Addison,  Bent- 
ley,  Boyl,  Steele,  Rowe,  Bolingbroke,  and  many  others,  who 
formed  that  constellation  of  genius  which  shone  with  such 
lustie,  from  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary  to  that  of  George 
the  Second.  The  letters  of  Junius  reached  us  long  after- 
wards— they  form  a  distinct  style  in  English  Belles  Lettres, 
but  are  mentioned  here  with  less  reference  to  that  fact,  than 
to  the  effect  produced  by  them.  He  certainly  must  read 
those  celebrated  letters  with  little  attention,  and  be  grossly 
ignorant  of  the  history  of  those  days,  who  hesitates  in  allow- 
ing them  an  important  share  in  producing  that  resistance  to 
the  mother  country,  which  terminated  in  the  emancipation 
of  the  colonies  :  they  breathed  the  spirit  of  liberty  into  the 
souls  of  our  forefathers,  and  with  a  breath  of  flame. 

The  wealth  of  the  colonies,  the  long  and  bloody  war 
whii  h  followed,  and  its  termination  in  our  emancipation  from 
the  yoke  of  Great  Britain,  however  important  and  beneficial 
in  a  national  point  of  view,  had  temporarily  a  baneful  effect 
upon  the  literature,  morals,  and  religion  of  the  country.  For 
from  the  year  177$  to  the  year  17&3,  our  schools,  our  courts, 


11 

and  our  churches,  may  be  said  to  have  been  shut  up  ;  and 
sm;ill  as  was  the  advancement  we  had  made  in  the  path  of 
literature,  that  advancement  was  not  only  checked,  but  we 
were  actually  put  back. 

From  this  period  we  took  our  attitude  in  the  world,  as  a 
separate  and  distinct  nation,  dependent  on  our  own  resources 
and  exertions  for  our  well-being  and  advancement.  The 
disasters  of  war,  at  no  time  easily  repaired,  fell  heavily  on 
us.  Our  means  were  exhausted,  our  population  thinned  ;  an 
ill  state  of  feeling  remained  in  the  country,  and  its  morals 
were  in  the  very  worst  condition.  These  were  indeed  diffi- 
culties, and  ot  the  most  serious  character ;  but  they  were  to 
be  encountered  by  veterans,  by  men  accustomed  to  a  frown- 
ing front,  and  familiar  with  opposition. 

In  looking  through  the  annals  of  the  world,  we  will  scarce^ 
ly  find  a  more  instructive  lesson  than  that  which  is  taught  at 
this  period  of  the  history  of  the  days  ~>f  our  fathers.  It 
shows  what  energy  may  effect  when  virtue  is  its  basis,  and 
inflexible  determination  its  support.  Never  were  prospects 
more  discouraging  nor  success  more  complete.  A  wise  and 
just  government  was  established — order  restored — our  dilapi- 
dated colleges  were  re-built — new  ones  erected  and  endowed, 
and  we  appeared  at  once  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  like 
an  island  bursting  from  the  bosom  of  the  deep.  Nor  «re  the 
sons  of  such  fathers  liable  to  reproach,  for  not  following  in 
their  footseps — they  have  contiimed  the  good  work — there 
is  not"  a  country  on  earth  where  greater  exertions  are  making 
for  the  extension  of  education  than  in  the  United  States. 
Schools  are  daily  increasing  and  spreading  themselves  like 
net-work  over  the  land. 

In  those  States  where  wealth  and  opinion  happily  com- 
bine in  the  advancement  of  literature,  the  attainments  which 
have  been  made  are  as  great  as  they  are  well  deserved.  Al- 
ready have  they  silenced  ihe  invidious  inter' ogatorv  from 
th -  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  "  Who  ever  reads  an  American 
book?"  and  should  it  please  the  Almighty  to  preserve  the 
Union,  and  save  us  from  dissentions  among  ourselves,  the 
next  century  will  see  much  of  the  literary  debt  paid  off  which 
we  owe  the  old  world.  Nothing,  as  i'  seems  to  me.  can  be 
wiser  than  the  system  which  has  been  adopted  by  some  of 
those  States,  if  the  information  I  have  received  can  be  re- 
lied upon.     Every  township,  or  other  thickly  settled  part  of 


12 

the  country,  has  a  primary  school  established  in  it;  wheic 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  English  grammar,  and  the  great 
principles  of  Christianity  are  taught ;  several  of  these  town- 
ships are  conveniently  grouped  together  for  an  academy,  into 
which  the  pupils  pass  from  the  primary  schools,  and  are  there 
prepared  for  the  freshman  class  in  college.  Was  our  only 
difficulty  that  of  fixing  upon  a  proper  line  of  operations  for 
North  Carolina,  I  should  certainly  suggest  this  system  to  the 
Institute  as  worthy  their  attention.  But,  alas!  the  case  is 
far  otherwise  with  us  ;  we  have  a  dragon  in  our  path  to  en- 
counter, in  the  unfavourable  state  of  public  opinion,  and  till 
that  is  removed,  it  is  useless  to  think  of  plans  and  systems 
of  general  education.  Until  our  countrymen  shall  annex  a 
more  extensive  meaning  to  the  word  Education  than  that 
which  they  at  present  attach  to  it,  and  by  a  juster  estimate  of 
its  value,  feel  a  much  stronger  interest  in  its  acquisition,  every 
effort  we  can  make  will  only  be  rolling  the  stone  of  Sisyphus. 

But  however  unpromising  an  aspect  may  be  exhibited  by  a 
few  of  the  States;  as  a  Nation,  our  prospects  are  of  the  most 
flattering  character,  and  the  great  cause  of  literature,  of  civili- 
zation, and  the  arts,  is  rising  triumphant  over  every  obsta- 
cle. Every  year  will  add  to  its  strength,  every  year  will 
see  the  preceding  year  outstripped,  in  the  number  of  the 
educated,  and  the  extent  of  their  acquisitions  ; — it  is  thus 
that  a  nation  becomes  literary.  Each  educated  individual 
is  an  added  pillar  of  support,  for  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  educated  persons  is  there  a  call  for  books,  and  a  conse- 
quent spread  and  enlargement  of  the  sphere  ot  knowledge. 

Although  literature  in  the  United  States  may  fairly  be 
considered,  at  this  day,  as  placed  upon  a  firm  and  permanent 
basis,  yet  its  progress  is  impeded  by  circumstances  more 
extensively  applicable  to  us,  than  I  think  to  almost  any  other 
people.  For,  in  a  country  like  ours,  where  families  are  large, 
and  fortunes  small,  many  with  difficulty  go  through  a  colle- 
giate course,  and  when  graduates  are  obliged  hastily  to  look 
for  present  means  of  subsistence,  without  reference  to  taste  or 
talent.  Agriculture,  however  necessary  or  noble  an  avo- 
cation and  science,  is  that  which  least  fits  us  for  pushing  for- 
ward the  higher  faculties  of  the  mind,  or  advancing  in  litera- 
ry pursuits.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  literary 
man  attending  to  agriculture  for  information,  and  an  agricul- 
turalist becoming  a  literary  man  ;  in  truth,  literature  is  here 


13 

seldom  attended  to,  whatever  may  have  been  the  first  inten- 
tions of  the  individual,  or  however  nature  may  have  organi- 
zed his  mind  for  such  pursuits.  The  cares  of  a  family  too  ear- 
ly encountered, — a  depressed  mind, — associations  in  the  hum- 
bler walks  of  life,  and  reading  confined  to  the  villaee  news- 
paper, with  an  occasional  dipping  into  Bucchan's  or  Thomas's 
Family  Practice,  when  a  child  or  a  servant  is  sick,  too  often  clo- 
ses the  career  of  one,  who  under  happier  circumstances,  might 
have  been  an  ornament  to  haters,  and  have  added  to  the 
fame  and  the  glory  of  his  country. — View  the  Student  reti- 
ring from  college  under  more  fortunate  circumstances; — he 
is  a  Lawyer,  a  Physician  : — set  his  profession  engrosses  all  ; 
— he  too,  early  surrounds  himself  with  a  family,  (for  such  is 
the  fashion  of  out  countn  )  and  life  often  slips  from  under  him, 
before  he  has  even  had  time  to  turn  his  attention  to  any 
tiling  but  the  avocation  of  the  day. 

Yet  let  us  not  be  discouraged.  Time,  the  great  corrector 
of  all  things,  will  be  unto  us,  as  he  has  been  unto  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth  ;  for  the  scy  he  which  has  been  put  into 
his  bund  by  the  Poet  and  the  Painter,  is  levelled  at  the  errors 
of  mankind,  as  well  as  at  physical  existence.  The  taste  for 
show  and  expense,  inseparable  from  civilization,  will,  contra- 
dictory as  it  may  seem,  work  the  most  important  result  in 
the  cause  of  literature.  The  difficulty  of  maintaining  a  family 
in  a  certain  style,  (for  it  is  idle  to  think  of  the  primitive  sim- 
plicity of  republics)  will  inevitably  check  the  evil  of  impru- 
dent matrimonial  connexions,  and  arriving  at  wealth,  or  easy 
competency,  too  late  for  the  cares  of  a  family  the  attention 
of  the  individual  will  often,  while  living,  be  directed  to  litera- 
ry pursuits;  and  his  fortune,  when  dead,  be  applied  to  their 
advancement  and  support. 

This  is  no  vision  of  mine  ;  it  is  a  very  common  occurrence 
in  Europe,  and  has  been  so  for  centuries;  but  is  more  parti- 
cularly remarkable  in  England,  where  college  after  college 
has  been  erected,  and  millions  bestowed  in  endowing  them, 
from  the  source  I  have  pointed  to.  In  these  institutions,  as 
well  as  in  the  colleges  of  our  own  country,  various  systems 
have  been  adopted;  for  like  every  thing  else,  education  has 
been,  and  ever  must  be,  liable  to  the  effect  of  a  peculiar  state 
of  things,  and  the  influence  oftne?i  in  power  at  the  time,  whose 
views  and  predilections  give  a  tone  and  direction  to  it,  and,  con- 
sequently, to  the  rising  generation.     For  it  would  be  extreme- 


/ 


r  . 

14 


iy  difficult  to  get  a  great  statesman  or  divine,  (no  matter  how 
old  lie  might  bo)  to  believe,  that  he  would  not  live  to  enjoy 
i lie  benefit  of  those  principles  which  he  was  inculcating 
through  the  discipline  and  course  of  study  of  the  colleges 
that  were  under  his  control.  The  cardinals,  Ximines,  Albe- 
roni,  Wolsey,  Richelieu,  and  Mazarine,  are  striking  examples 
among  a  pige  full  of  names  that  might  be  adduced  in  support 
of  this.  Apart  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  institutions  them- 
selves, in  their  primary  organization,  so  long  as  things  are  in 
a  state  of  quietude,  there  is  no  particular  propensity  to  the 
cuhivation  of  any  one  faculty  or  science,  above  another.  But 
as  soon  as  any  great  design  is  on  hand,  or  strong  impression  is 
made  on  the  public  mind,  the  science  immediately  applicable 
thereto,  becomes  the  favorite,  and  every  energy  is  employed 
in  its  cultivation.  It  is  for  this  reason,  that  one  age  or  period 
is  more  productive  than  another,  of  eminent  characters  in 
particular  branches  of  science  ;  for  ceteris  paribus,  I  am  not 
disposed  to  believe,  that  there  is  any  material  variation  in  the 
quantum  of  talent  in  existence  in  any  country; — it  is  cultiva- 
tion which  makes  the  difference  we  see.  Thus  does  a  ene- 
ficent  Providence,  in  literature,  as  in  every  thing  else,  cause, 
under  the  guidance  of  consummate  wisdom,  the  opinions, 
the  tastes,  the  labours,  and  the  pursuits  of  our  age,  to  became 
mines  of  instruction,  of  wealth,  and  of  blessing  to  the  suc- 
ceeding. 

This  reflection,  at  all  times  consolatory,  is  particularly  so 
in  an  age  remarkable,  as  is  the  present,  for  experiment  and 
the  freedom  of  opinion.  That  we  are  approaching  a  crisis  in 
the  iiterary,  as  well  as  political  world,  the  result  of  which  no 
man  can  foresee,  is  well  known,  and  is  looked  to  with 
anxiety.  Education  is  but  another  name  for  our  preparation 
for  the  business  of  life,  and  it  is  quite  natural  that  there 
should  be  differences  of  opinion  respecting  it;  but  these 
should  ever  be  discussed  with  calmness,  and  with  a  view  to 
a  wise  result,  rather  than  of  victory  in  an  argument ; — it  is 
a  subject  of  too  serious  a  chaiacter,  to  allow  of  petulanty. 
Is  the  discussion  of  that  deeply  interesting  question  M  Shall 
the  dead  or  learned  languages,  longer  he  retained  as  a  part 
of  the  education  of  youth?"  at  all  assisted  by  the  affirma  live 
advocates,  when  they  found  the  opposition  of  their  adversa- 
ries in  ignorance,  and  an  indisposition  to  encounter  the  labor 
which  their  acquisition  demands  ?     Or  are  the  supporters  of 


15 

the  negative  benefitted  by  delivering  over  their  opponents  to 
strutting  peil.intry,  and  a  childish  butterfly  pursuit  afterwards? 
Certainly  not  ;  and  while  the  votaries  of  literature  are  anx- 
iously looking  forward  to  the  issue  of  this  momentous  ques- 
tion, they  can  have  little  relish  for  the  calling  of  names,  and 
the  details  of  personal  altercation.  The  last  thirty  years, 
productive  of  so  many  important  political  events,  are  not 
less  remarkable  in  literary  history,  for  within  that  period 
more  has  been  said,  and  a  deeper  iinpresion  made  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  unfavorable  to  the  cultivation  of  the  dead 
languages,  than  is  to  be  met  with,  let  us  go  back  to  what 
point  we  may. 

Be  it  far  from  me  to  assume  the  province  of  umpire  in 
these  disputes  among  the  learned: — I  have  not  the  honor  to 
be  numbered  among  them,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  even  a 
partisan ;  yet,  I  am  one  of  the  guardians  of  a  literary  institu- 
tion, and  in  that  capacity,  and  as  a  simple  individual,  I  may 
be  allowed  an  opinion. 

If,  in  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  we  are 
to  gather  only  a  parcel  of  words,  used  by  men  who  have  been 
more  than  two  thousand  years  in  their  graves — to  know  that 
logos  means  a  word,  and  that  kai  means  and  ;  that  ubi  means 
iff  here,  and  quando  means  token;  I  admit  the  pursuit  is  idle, 
and  a  waste  of  time.  But  if  we  are  to  consider  their  acquisi- 
tion as  a  powerful  assistant  in  refining  taste,  in  the  enlarge- 
ment of  thought,  and  as  an  inexhaustible  source  of  the  most 
happy  and  apposite  illusions,  in  composition  and  in  oratory  ; 
if,  as  a  chain  of  connexion,  as  well  with  the  dead,  as  with 
those  who  may  live  ten  thousand  years  to  come,  when  the 
language  that  we  now  speak  may  have  fallen  into  barbarism  ; 
I  must  feel  an  interest  in  their  preservation.  It  may  be  a  vision, 
a  dream — yet  I  have  mused  on  sacred  offices  to  be  perform- 
ed many,  many  ages  hence  :  when  the  learned,  from  time  to 
time,  as  our  language  declines,  shall  collect  the  classical  re- 
mains of  their  countrymen,  and  translating  them  into  the 
Greek  or  Latin  (languages  which  have  long  ceased  to  know 
the  influence  of  change)  snatch  them  from  oblivion,  and  hand 
them  down  to  posterity,  ft  will  be  an  office,  pious  as  that 
when  children  collect  the  bones  of  their  fore-fathers,  and 
raise  the  column  and  the  altar  to  their  memory. 

Among  the  many  plans  and  speculations  which  have  pre- 
sented themselves  on  the  theatre  of  the  literary  world,  I  have 


16 

been  most  struck  by  that  which  would  fix  our  language  at  a 
pai  ticular  point.  Tins  is  not  a  new  thought,  it  is  a  revived  one, 
and  one  in  which  authors  are  too  much  interested  to  give  up 
nil  hope  of  success,  although  the  execution  of  the  scheme 
must,  upon  sober  reflection,  appear  impossible.  For  who 
can  examine  this  subject,  and  fail  to  perceive  that  living  lan- 
guages, like  the  opinions,  manners  and  fashions  of  the  day 
are  undei  the  unceasing  process  of  change.  They  keep  pace 
with  the  enlargement  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  and  thus 
the  increase  of  compound  ideas,  and  the  ever  varying  com- 
binations of  thought,  are  a  perpetual  draft  on  the  coinage  of 
words,  for  their  expression  and  developement.  Those  who 
have  written  best,  have  certainly  the  most  to  fear,  for  the 
effert  of  time  on  all  compositions  in  a  living  language,  may 
be  aptly  compared  to  that  of  the  atmosphere  on  burnished 
steel;  conosion  soon  commences,  and  gradually  spreading 
over  the  whole  superficies,  blurs  and  destroys  that  smooth- 
ness, polish  and  brilliancy,  once,  perhaps,  its  principal  excel- 
lence. Who  now  reads  Chaucer  or  Spencer?  They  were 
the  most  refimd  and  fascinating  writers  of  the  age  in  which 
they  lived  ;  they  wrote  in  the  purest  English  of  their  day, 
and  yet  have  now  to  be  translated  into  English,  to  be  un- 
derstood. No  man  bad  a  clearer  view  of  this  appalling  fact 
than  the  celebrated  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  few  had  more 
to  fear  from  its  effects ;  he  sought  a  corrective  with  every 
energy  of  his  natuie,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt,  would 
have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  college  for  fixing  the  En- 
glish language,  had  Queen  Anne  lived  a  few  years  longer. 
That  this  college  would  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good,  is 
certain  ;  for  there  never  was  one  that  did  not  ;  but  that  it 
would  have  totally  failed  of  its  purpose,  is  equally  so.  No 
living  language  can  be  restrained  within  metes  and  bounds, 
and  all  attempts  of  that  character  will  be  found  as  vain  and 
impotent,  as  that  of  Xerxes,  when  he  would  have  brought 
the  sea  to  submision  by  scourging,  and  have  thrown  chains 
around  its  waves.  Language,  the  great  medium  of  inter- 
change and  communication  between  the  members  of  the  hu- 
man familv,  has  not  failed  of  its  due  portion  of  consideration 
from  the  Most  High  ;  and  for  reasons  much  wiser  than  any 
we  can  assign,  has  been  placed  beyond  the  arbitrary  control 
of  man. 


<j 


